Love is in the Air

With all the "Love" going on this month, I thought that this wonderful set from Clear Dollar Stamps was perfect.  I just love these tweet birdies and the sentiment from the Love Tweet Love set.  I've paired it with some lovely papers that you can also find at Clear Dollar Stamps from their Static Dreams set.  I added this wonderful lace ribbon and satin white ribbon that I had in my collection.  Something simple to hopefully bring some smiles.
I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
For Fun- Put a little love in your heart.
Simon Says- Love is in the air
Scrapbook Sisters- Anything Goes

Calling all Button Lovers!

Hello, today I have a tutorial to share with you.  It's about how to make some of your own buttons.  If you're anything like me, I collect buttons and have tons of the "real thing".  But just for fun I thought it would be nice to try to make some of my own buttons.  Please come step into my crafty spot with me.

Seems a bit crowded, but that's ok, you'll all fit!  Now to prepare.

You'll need some stamps if you're like me and drawing one is out of your league.   I'm using some clear ones from Fiskars, but any small ones will do (Digi or rubber) .  Mine aren't button stamps but we can tweek them a little.   Then some ink if using rubber and a mounting block if they're clear.  Some pieces of paper; I chose various colours and some patterned ones.  A pair of scissors and a cutting tool if you have one (I'm going to use my Creative Memories one for the patterned paper.).  I have a circle punch on my "love to have" list.  But a pair of good scissors is great! And of course some dimentional adhesive like Chrystal Laquer.  I'm using Diamond Glaze by Judikins.  For safety, an extra piece of paper or newsprint is always a good idea!

Now that I've cut out some patterned circles and stamped a few "buttons" it's time to add the glaze.  If you want distinct "holes" then you can add those with a marker prior to glazing. For those using punches and not scissors, you will need to punch them out prior to glazing them because with the glaze they won't fit in the puncher. Note: go slowly with the glaze to reduce bubbles.  If you end up with some bubbles, just use a needle and pop them.

 Here's a bit of a close up of some of the buttons with the glaze.  It looks milky at first, but will dry nice and clear.  Another note, with the precut circles/ punches you could add a bit of sticky tac under them to keep the paper from warping while the glaze is drying.  Drying times will vary.

Once they are all dry, go ahead and cut them out, with the good ol' reliable scissors if you didn't precut/punch them.  Pauline calls it fussy cutting, and I've a mind to agree with her there! Once they're all cut out it's time to add them to your creations! Here's what I've come up with.

I love baskets of buttons so I made my own.  The basket I wove from some embossed paper and filled it with "buttons".  Some I sewed and others I just adhered.  Then I added some bling flourishes and sweet little butterflies.  The butterfly wings are glittery but it doesn't really show in the photo.  I added a bit of ribbon and a sentiment from Inkadinkado that I stamped right on the basket.

Here's a close-up of the delightful buttons.  They're very easy to make and it's nice to be able to custom make them for select projects where no other buttons seem to work.  Hope you enjoyed this little tutorial.  Have a marvelous day and enjoy your buttons!
I am also entering the challenge over at Scrapbook Sisters -anything goes with this card.

A New Home

Hello, I have a new card that I've created for a friend of mine who just moved into a new home.  I created the card with an open bottom so that you could see the ribbon from the top and also from the inside.

 I created it with just two colours for the challenge over at Scrapbook Sisters - Use 2 colours
For the top I used a Fiskars clear stamp for the flowers and then sewed buttons to their centers.  I added a touch of ribbon, some distressed paper from K & Company then topped it with a computer generated sentiment.  For the inside I coloured a cute digi from Sliekje's.  I matted it on some yellow cardstock over some more lovely yellow paper with the ribbon running through it.  It seemed lonely so I added another flower and a small pale bow.  The card still looked a bit to simple so seeing the yellow butterfly in the image I decided to give him some friends.  I used my EK Success butterfly punch and then added some pearls to them.  This card is to go with a basket of goodies to her home in the next day or two.  Hope she enjoys it!

Cupcake Birthday

Today I have a card that I've created using a sketch from the Scrapbook Sisters Challenge.  

I found this fun cupcake over at Cre8tive Hands and coloured it in purples with a green and yellow base.  I layered it with some misc papers and silver ribbon (Modern@Home) that I had in my stash and added some cute purple ribbon from Multicraft Imports.  I added the little bow in the bottom corner of the image since the image came with the sentiment.  To finish it off, I added some glitter with my Twinkles Writer by DecoArt.  I find it really nice at times to follow a sketch, it's adds to the creative processes.  Thanks for dropping in to see what I've made.

Music in the Air

Hello everyone, here I have a new card that I've made for the Stampin' Sisters in Christ  Challenge:  Make a card/project that features a bird, such as in the patterned paper, a stamped image, a charm, etc. 

I will also be entering this card in Scrapbook Sisters challenge- anything goes.  I just love this bird image singing away on his branch.  Both the image and the sentiment are from TLC and I added just a touch of colour and some distress ink to them.  I also used a strip of music notes from some digital papers by Lindsay Stamp Stuff available at MyGrafico.  The ribbon is from multicraft imports and the wonderful design paper is from K & Company.  To finish it off I added an old button my mom had given me.  She gave me a bunch of buttons that came from my grandparents estates when they passed away.  Knowing I love buttons, she saved them for me.  Thanks for dropping by, and please come again as I have more posts coming out soon.

Sweet Baby Boy

Here is my boy version of this delightful teddy bear.

I always love to do a boy and a girl version of baby cards since one never truly knows (even with modern technology) what the gender will be until birth!  I have used the teddy bear digi from Jen's Digi Designs again and made him a bit softer.  I just added some soft torn feathered paper, a simple tied ribbon and a few buttons and some rhinestones for his eyes.  I think babies eyes twinkle so when they're little - so full of fascination!
I'm entering this card in Stamps R Us challenge- Bling it on; Scrapbook Sisters Challenge - Baby, Baby; The Cutie Pie Challenge- Bears! and Designed 2 Delight Challenge - Baby!

Sweet Baby Girl

Well, I'm back with another baby card.  This time I made a girl and a boy one (the boy one to follow on next post).  This card is for the Scrapbook Sister's Challenge - Baby, Baby.  I had lots of fun on this one because I got to try our some new things I got on it. For starters, I just got this wonderful digi from Jen's Digi Stamps.  She has freebie's every friday and a great store (do go check it out!).  Plus right now they have a bloghop going on!   I bought some new Stampin' Up cardstock and thought it went well with some textured light pink cardstock from my stash.  The patterned paper is a scrap I had, not sure who it's by.  For the little lacy trim, I used a new border punch from EK Success that my husband bought me!  I have been wanting this for a long time and he knew it! He is sooo thoughtful!  Then I tied up some wonderful folded ribbon from Stampin' Up.  The sentiment is computer generated.  To touch it off I added a bit of bling to sweet teddy's eyes and three to the top corner.  Thanks for dropping by, I love sharing what I make with you all.
I am also entering this card in The Cutie Pie Challenge - Bears! and Designed 2 Delight's challenge-  Baby Baby and Stamps R Us challenge - Bling It On.

New Home

Today I have a card that I've made for a new family that we've met who just moved to town.  I found this wonderful home at Broken Box Stock.  (They have so many amazing stamps there, be sure to go check it out!)  I coloured the image with pencil crayons and baby oil, then matted it on some Stampin' Up cardstock and distressed the edges.  I layered it on some great papers from New Seasons.  I added a sparkly green ribbon and tied it in a bow!  For a finishing touch, I added a computer generated sentiment. I hope they feel welcome.   I am entering this card in Scrapbook Sisters - Anything goes challenge.